The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and the Eric Anderson Weigel Memorial Fund celebrate the “Eric Weigel Day of Kindness + Gratitude” on April 29th, and it’s a day we can get behind! At Literacy Together, we invite all those who have been impacted by Eric’s legacy to take part! Eric was a voracious reader, and his parents, Larry and Jayne, regularly contribute to the mission at Literacy Together: to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy. 

Eric’s Legacy of Compassion

Eric was a young man whose life was dedicated to kindness, learning, and adventure. Eric’s life was tragically cut short just weeks after his graduation when he died in a kayaking accident on the North Fork of the Payette River in Idaho. A National Merit Scholar who graduated Magna cum Laude from Furman University with a BS in chemistry in 2013, Eric dreamed of attending medical school. He practiced gratitude daily, taking time each evening to acknowledge what he felt thankful for. His love of reading and passion for learning inspired others throughout his life, and in his memory, his family has committed to supporting causes that aligned with Eric’s values. 

Their support, in Eric’s honor, has gone toward providing free tutoring to more than 500 individuals each year in Buncombe County. “We believe in the mission of Literacy Together, and we are grateful to support your wonderful work for people in need,” they wrote.

Join the Movement on April 29th

Tremont & the Eric Anderson Weigel Memorial Fund have created “Eric Weigel Day of Kindness + Gratitude” on April 29. To honor Eric’s love of reading and his family’s commitment toward literacy, the team at Literacy Together has decided to participate and we hope you do as well! Here are some ideas for how to generate kindness and gratitude on April 29:

• Sign up to volunteer with our ESOL program — we have a waitlist of more than 70 students!
• Write thank you notes to teachers or literacy volunteers in your community
• Clean up litter around a local school or library
• Take time to listen to someone’s story without interruption or distraction
• Send a handwritten letter to someone who could use encouragement
• Ask a colleague or neighbor about their favorite book and why they love it
• Reach out to someone who might be lonely and invite them for coffee or a walk
• Write a list of things you are grateful for

In Eric’s memory, Literacy Together invites everyone to make April 29th a day when kindness and gratitude flourish. Through supporting literacy, as Larry and Jayne do, or through countless other acts of kindness, we can all help build the more just and compassionate world that Eric envisioned.

Eric’s parents have created bookmarks with some of Eric’s beautiful travel photography, along with some of his own reflections.

For more information about how you can participate or support Literacy Together’s mission, please contact us at development@lit-together.org. 

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, WD Williams Elementary Media Specialist/ Librarian Kassandra Cumming took action to support families displaced by the disaster. With many of them asking for children’s books despite losing homes and belongings, she ​contacted us asking for help.

“We are trying to put books into the hands of our kiddos who are having a tough time right now,” she said. “They are asking for books, filling my heart with joy and my eyes with tears.” 

Her desire to give books to displaced families inspired us to organize a book drive.​ Almost simultaneously,  Heather Childress from Weaverville Primary School and Kyley Byrd​, a BeLoved Asheville volunteer, ​asked us for books for the school and the “buckets of love” distributed among the displaced families living in shelters.

​Since our office was closed, we partnered with The Whale WAVL so they could receive the books. We received hundreds of books that went to Beloved Asheville, Leaf Global Arts, Weaverville Primary School, and Jones Elementary.

Library IQ learned about the drive, contacted us, and offered to donate as many books to W.D. Williams Elementary as needed. ​ The school received 100 books per grade level!

This was an excellent opportunity to build and deepen relationships with local businesses and organizations: The Whale WAVL, Pages for a Fresh Start, The Venue Asheville, Library IQ, local author Constance Lombardo, and BeLoved Asheville. They all played a role in collecting, receiving, and distributing donations.

Also, the Youth Literacy Program interns and our non-tutoring volunteer, Becky, helped with the book distribution!

​We’re so grateful for this community effort and to everyone who donated books!

Our community has been devastated by Hurricane Helene, and our students are among those most affected. For those already struggling with low literacy and language barriers, the path to recovery seems even more daunting.  These are the challenges our students face every day. Do you want to help? You can become a volunteer tutor or donate. Thank you!

We had another fantastic edition of Authors for Literacy, our signature fundraising event. It was a pleasure to host New York Times bestselling author Lisa See! We are so grateful for everyone who came to support Literacy Together’s mission of changing lives and communities through the power of literacy. 

Special thanks to our adult learners Fernanda (ESOL) and Karima (Adult Literacy), who, accompanied by their incredible tutors, moved us to tears with their courageous, inspiring, funny testimonials.

Thank you, Jesse Kitt Photography, for the beautiful photos, and thank you to Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe for being there!

Watch this video highlighting the most touching moments of the evening. Thank you to Andrew Crespo for this beautiful work. Enjoy!  

To our sponsors: we couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you! Here is our staff; we love what we do, and it shows! 😍